L y m a n derby



l.. DERBY.

Thll Coupling.

Patented May 12, 1868.

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LYM'AN DERBY, 0F New YORK, N. Y.

Letters Patent No. 77,804, eluted May 12, 1868.

THILLVFASTENERS.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, LYMAN DERBY, ofthe city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new und useful Improvements in Thin-Fasteners; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full description of the same.

'.lhc nature ofmy invention consists-- First, in the method of attaching the thills to the clip or jack, by means of a slotted bolt, whereby the thills may be attached'to and detached from the coupling with great ease and-.facility and, at the same time, making a perfectly non-rattling shaft or thin-shackle.

Second, in combining with the thill-iron and slotted bolt, a. spring-latch, whereby the thill-iron is prevented from boing drawnvifrom the slot in the bolt, and, at thesame time, by its eonstantrtendency to contract on the bolt, take up any possible-wear on the thill-iron, and thus keep it always tight in the slotted bolt.

` But, to describe my invention more particularly, I will refer to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, the same letters of reference whereverthey occur referring to like parts.

' Figure 'l is a side view of the thin-fastener, showing, by the red outline,.its modeof attachment to the axle and thill. l

Figure 2 is a front view ofthe thill-fastener. Y l

Figure 3 is a vertical cut section of the same through the line :z: ce, fig. 2;

Figure 4 is a detached view ofthe slotted bolt.

Letter vA represents the ordinary clip as usually forged, preparatory to its being bent on the axle, having attached to its frontedges ear-pieces, B. i

Between these ear-piecesA is secured a slotted bolt, C, by means of screw-nuts, D. The diameter of this bolt is about fivefeighths of an inch, but maybe made either larger or smaller in diameter as required, for heavy or light vehicles, and isfalso made of uniform diameter throughout its bearingsin the ear-pieces, so as t'o retain the full strength ot' the boltI to sustain or hold the thills, and, at the same time, to obtain a greater'amount of wearingsnrface than would bethe case'if the 'screwthreads extended through'the :ear-pieces.

Iietter 'E is the thill-iron,the end of which is'made to fit and pass through the slot in the bolt. In the end of the thill-iron is an oblong hole, F,of suclrlengthr as to extend below the slotted bolt. The object of' this oblong holeis to admit of locking the thill-iron to the slotted bolt, by means of a spring-latch, Gr, attached to the lower side et' the thill-irn by a centre-pin, I-I, between suitablejaws, J.

By this device it will be readily perceived thatl the thill-iron will be firmly secured to the slotted boltw'md that in the event of any wear in the slot or the end of the tbill-iron, so as to admit of the thilI-iron working down through the bolt, will Abe prevented from drawing back again by the action of the wedged-shaped toe of the spring-latch contracting onfthe bolt through the opening in theend of the thill-iron.

' It will thus be seen thatthe thill-iron becomes self-locked to the clip or axleTA except so far as the slight turning of the slotted bolt in the car-pieces of th e clip, to accommodate the raising and lowering of the outer ends of the thills to attach to the horse, is `as rigid and drm as if made of one solid piece of'metal.

Having now described my invention, I will proceed .to set forth what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States. y

1. I claim the combination of the slotted bolt C with the ear-pieces B, whether attached to the" clip A or jack-plate, for securingthe clip upon the axle,.as sometimes used, for the purposes herein'before set forth. l

2. I also claim, in combination with the slotted bolt C, the tenoned or wedge-shaped thill-iroh E, having an oblong hole, F, in it, substantially as herenbefore set forth, and for the purposes described.

3. I also claim, in-combination with the tenen-shaped tliill-iron E, having a slot or-hcle, F, in it, the. spring-latch G, substantially as described and forthe purposes vset forth. r v LYMAN DERBY. Witnesses:

CHARLES L. BARBIN, EnANKtIN BARMTT. 

